this morning on "early today," economic divide. how americans are reacting to last night's first presidential debate. out of order. fists fly during a sentencing hearing in a south carolina courtroom. and crowning achievement. detroit third baseman miguel cabrera joins one of major leagueaseball's most elite cabrera joins one of major leagueaseball's most elite groups. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. today we're going to begin with an economic show down. president obama and mitt romney squared off for the first of three presidential debates last

night and what some are calling a polite war of words, the candidates sparred over job creation, taxes and the future of health care. nbc's steve handelsman has more. >> reporter: the pressure was on mitt romney who needed a turn around. president obama came into the debate ahead in every battleground state. with an estimated 60 million americans watching on tv, cable and the web, moderator jim leherer asked can you put more people to work? >> the answer is, yes, we can help. >> reporter: romney would cut taxes and regulations on small business. >> my priority is jobs, and so what i do is i bring down the tax rates. >> governor romney's proposal that he's been promoting for 18 months calls for a $5 trillion tax cut. >> reporter: which the president claimed would help the rich at others' expense. >> the average middle class family with young children would pay $2,000 more. >> everything he said about my tax plan is not accurate.

>> it is not possible to come up with enough tax cuts to avoid either raising the deficit or burdening the middle class. it's math. it's arithmetic. >> reporter: on medicare and social security one agreement. >> neither the president nor i are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees. >> reporter: in ten years romney wants a private medicare option. >> aarp has said that your plan would weaken medicare substantially. >> reporter: romney fired back in a major debate moment that the president weakened the economy by his focus on health care. >> i just don't know how the president could come into office facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for obama care instead of fighting for jobs for the american people. >> we did work on this alongside working on jobs because this is part of making sure that middle class families are secure in this country.

>> reporter: a substantial debate. no zingers. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, denver. all right. so how did the candidates do? well, post debate instant polls reveal that most voters believe mitt romney did better than president obama. a cnn orc poll shows that 67% of registered voters who watched the debate chose mr. romney as the winner while 25% chose mr. obama. a cbs snap poll showed that 45% identified mitt romney while 22% said barack obama won and 32% called it a tie. the candidates tangled over taxes and figures of cuts or increases. andrea mitchell looked into the truth behind the rhetoric of both candidates. >> let me repeat what i said. i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan. my plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the

deficit. >> reporter: romney has proposed making the bush tax cuts permanent for all tax levels and then cutting all rates an additional 20%. he would repeal the alternative minimum tax and repeal the estate tax. they said mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over ten years. he said his plan would be paid for but to pay for those he would have to close loopholes and get rid of some tax deductions, he said, and tax credits, but he's repeatedly refused to say which deductions he would get rid of saying he would work with congress to make those decisions. also president obama said his plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion. >> we all know that we've got to do more so i put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan. it's on a website. you can look at all the numbers, what cuts we make and what revenue we raise. >> reporter: that estimate comes from the left leaning center on budget and policy priorities.

3.8 trillion to be exact over ten years. the president is counting money saved by letting the bush tax cuts expire for people making more than $250,000 a year, but he's also counting $1 trillion in savings over ten years by drawing down the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the bipartisan nonprofit committee for responsible federal budget has called that a gimmick because those wars were deficit financed in the first place and the president is also counting on savings agreed to last year when the white house and congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling. that was nbc's andrea mitchell reporting. here's some other stories making news today in early days. a convicted robbery defendant surprised his public defender with a round house punch to the face after receiving a 15 year sentence. the brutal blow left the attorney with a bloody mouth. the attacker had an additional six months tacked on to his sentence. the trend of bizarre

criminal behavior continued in florida when a machete wielding man when he walked into the police department. officers ended the ordeal by using a taser and tackling him to the ground. on a much lighter note this morning, one washington redskins fanatic transformed his front yard into a tribute to his favorite team. that takes some time. the virginia resident used his landscaping skills to decorate his lawn with redskins school lors and logos. he says he spends hundreds of dollars on mulch each year just to freshen up the display. for a look at your national and regional weather, nbc meteorologist bill karins has our weather forecast. >> the wife should have gave in and did the man cave instead. >> yes. let him golf every day. he'll definitely have her flowers back real quick. >> maybe she's helping him. good morning, everyone. full out snowstorm is underway in areas of eastern north dakota. winter starts early in the

dakotas, but this is slightly ridiculous. we didn't see too much in the way of the bismarck area but right now rain has turned over to snow from jamestown, grand forks will soon change over and even fargo will watch it turning to snow in the morning. we could even see school cancellations in this area for the first week of october. how much snow are we talking about? there's a possibility along interstate 29, the white is 3 to 6 and the pink is 6 to 12. a quick thump to the eastern side of minnesota right with the border of north dakota. other areas of concern today, still more fog this morning in the northern mid-atlantic states. the airports could have more delays. new york city down to philadelphia. still very humid and mercy. we've cleared it out for nice weather texas into the ohio valley. the cold air behind that snowstorm, billings and denver down into the 30s. this cold air is going to sweep across the midwest.

minneapolis will have a very chilly day and eventually that air will arrive tonight and tomorrow in chicago. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. boston, mass., could be a few showers in areas of new england today. yesterday was cloudy, wasn't so wet. today it will be cloudy and showery. temperatures will continue very warm. ohio valley, near 80 in cincinnati. snowstorms, october 4th in the dakotas. >> love it. >> it begins. >> hopefully it makes its way east. all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, hp plunges and sbi black market bust. and hiring 300,000 employees? your early morning business headlines are ahead. plus singing sensation and nbc's star of "the voice" christina aguilera is getting something very special from secretary of state hillary clinton. you're watching "early today."

>> well, here are some of your top headlines this morning. four people have died and 26 have gotten sick across five states after a meningitis outbreak. the cause appears to be contaminated steroid injections given to those with severe back pain. a massachusetts pharmacy believed to be the source of the outbreak has suspended operations recalling hundreds of doses. in iran amateur video shows antigovernment protests over the dropping currency. iranian currency has lost 40% of its value in a week. health officials warn dozen of weight loss and immune supplements are being illegally labeled and lack any scientific evidence. one out of five products bought in stores or online claim to prevent or cure deadly diseases. and remember this? the late crocodile hunter steve irwin clutching his baby boy as he went face to face with predators. that baby boy is now 8 years

old. robert irwin fed a crock himself for the very first time at the family zoo. now here's an early look at how wall street's going to kick off the day. the dough closed at 13,494. s&p was up 5 and the nasdaq gained 15. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei climbed 77 points while in hong kong the hang seng rose 19. well, a mixed bag of news for wall street sent hp shares plunging to a nine year low. after sending up a big caution flag over next year's earnings. but the service sector grew at its fastest pace in six months in september while a dp reported the private sector reported they added 162,000 new jobs. according to "usa today" six big changes are hiring upwards of 300,000 holiday workers. facebook is about to test whether users will pay to promote their posts on their

friends' news feed. be sure to watch matt lauer's one on one interview with mark zuckerberg on "the today show." chick-fil-a supported his comments about biblical families. the fbi raided a houston company wednesday for allegedly exporting military technology to russia. 84-year-old oil tie con t. boom pick jins is putting another x in texas divorcing wife number four. speaking of typhoons, spking of an oil boon, one official says it's getting tough to tell the average joe from the average millionaire. how do you turn five bucks into a fortune? let it sit around for a while. this one given to vice president charles fairbanks in 1905 from the first national bank of fairbanks could fetch $300,000 at auction. not a bad investment. coming up, flop in the nba

and fines. wild cards fight on and saints sean payton returns to the superdome plus the first triple crown winner in 45 years. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. soon we'll be done with the snow in the northern plains and then another shot of cold air will invade the u.s. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

. good morning. welcome back. time to get a look at what's knew in sports. miguel cabrera joins an exclusive group of legends. finishing with a 333 batting average, 139 rbis, cabrera has won the 15th triple crown in major league history and it's the first time since boston's carl yastrzemski in 1967. unbelievable. cabrera joins an elite list that includes mickey mantle, ted williams and lou gehrig. he will be leading his detroit team to the playoffs. the a's beat the rangers to clinch last night. texas will play the orioles on friday night in the a.l. wild card game. the o's were shut down 4-3 by the rays. every van longoria homered three times last night. with that orioles loss, the yankees clinch the a.l. east.

robinson canoe went four for four with two home runs and six rbis. curtis granderson also added one. they're going to play the rangers or orioles in the a.l. division series. that's starting on sunday. the national league wild card spot will be decided saturday with the braves/cardinals game. let's get a little football in. the nfl has agreed to allow suspended new orleans saints sean payton, mickey loomis and joe vitt to attend the team's game at the superdome on sunday night. and finally in basketball, the nba has adopted a new antiswapping rule that will fine players for things. coming up, a square for ashton kutcher fans and honey. [ audience booing ]

. we'll tell you about an inspirational cyclist who gives new meaning to the words, no limits. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this thursday morning, easily the worst weather in the country this morning is in eastern portions of north dakota, grand forks expecting winds of up to 45 miles per hour today. temperatures in the low 30s with six inches of snow. welcome to winter everyone here in this region of the country.

that cold air is also spreading this morning down through colorado, nebraska, kansas, minneapolis much cooler today. eventually as the front comes through. still warm on the eastern seaboard. humid air mass from d.c. through the carolinas. 90s in florida. tomorrow that cool air arrives for kansas city, st. louis and chicago. if you're watching us on kxan news, austin, texas, basketball fans will be wowed by incredible photographs at basketball power and play. that's your early event of the day, lynn. thanks so much. time for your latest entertainment news. the l.a.p.d. has been punced by calls. a swath team combed the area and said it was false. kutcher tweeted to fans it was false. >> imagine a swath team shows up at your house. >> that means business.

at a state department ceremony secretary of state hillary clinton honored nbc the voice's christina ago gu layer are for her work to fight global hunger. >> if i could sing, christina, i would want to be on your team. but since i can't i'm glad you're on this team. finally, "jersey shore" cast members the wags and paulie d has pearls of wisdom for alanna "honey boo boo" thompson. they say the seven-year-old star should run with it and go for it. they predict "honey boo boo" will become the new snooki because she and her family are just as crazy. i sure hope not. she's seven. >> they got big raises i heard because the show's so extremely popular. >> because bill karins keeps talking about how much he loves it. >> it's one of the highest rated on cable. >> you don't need to defend yourself. >> have you watched it yet? >> i've seen clips of it.

>> do it today and talk to me tomorrow. >> you just need an excuse. it's time now for a first look at ktal nbc 6 news in shreveport, louisiana, where a paralyzed man is preparing to use his hands and arms to embark on an inspirational journey all to help others. scott wells is on a 250 mile mission to make life better for people like him. the 42-year-old paraplegic is going to crank his hand cycle all the way to baton rouge. when he arrives he hopes people will be motivated to live their life to the fullest regardless of the limitations they may face. good role model there. i'm lynn berry and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

and now, from washington's leading news station, this is news4 today. >> are we going to double down on the top economic policies that helped to get us into this mess or do we embrace new economic patriotism? >> the people who are having the hard time right now are middle income americans. under the president's policies middle income americans have been buried. >> laying out policy instead of zingers as mitt romney and president obama make their cases to voters in the first presidential debate. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. we're going to take a live look outside right now at 4:28. it is 73 degrees out there.

still warm, and muggy. we had a nice warm day yesterday, too. >> we did. meteorologist tom kierein here with us now with our first forecast. >> still a bit humid this morning. we do have a few scattered showers that are beginning to move our way, and behind that, it's going to turn less humid and more autumnal by later this afternoon. have an umbrella handy as you're heading out the door early on this thursday morning. you can see that area of rain is advancing rather quickly from the southwest heading northeast, getting some light showers now, warrenton county further west, closer to washington from near leesburg and western loudoun county getting sprinkles further north. might have just a few little tiny sprinkles in the windshields in montgomery, prince george's and